Our last day in the Cinque Terre was spent exploring the village of Vernazza (where we were staying) and Monterosso. One of the things I found really interesting about these villages was that before the first train arrived in the morning and after the last train left at night the streets were much more quiet and peaceful. During the day the tourists flooded the narrow streets but in the quiet morning it was a different place.
On this particular morning I went out early to see the street market. I was expecting to see a farmer's market of sorts but was surprised. There were vendors selling everything you could think of needing in your home- toilet paper, pans, cleaning supplies, clothing, kitchen gadgets and on and on. I realized that the people in these villages probably don't have access to a large grocery store where these things are readily available. They have to wait for the travelling market to come through town once a week to get their supplies.
This morning we decided to climb up to the top of the tower sitting high above the village. It was so many stairs (but not as many as the cathedral in Florence!) Again, Topher was more interested in the dirt and his horsey than he was with the glittering sea and terraced gardens.
Can you spy Topher and Thomas down there?
For lunch we squeezed into a sidewalk cafe where the kitchen was across the path from the dining tables - not unusual for this area. For some reason Christopher was obsessed with this bottle of ketchup and kept patting it like a baby. We made friends with the table next to us and I had a truly unique dish of gnocchi with walnut pesto. I've never seen it on a menu before or since.
This cup of hazelnut gelato is what all my dreams are made of!
After naps at the apartment we caught the train to the last village on the chain - Monterosso. This was definitely the largest and most spread out of the villages. The beach was covered with bright colored umbrellas in neat lines. Thomas went for a swim in the ocean and Topher waded and splashed to his heart's content.
We happened on a small playground near the beach and let Christopher make some friends there. We walked through the village waiting for the restaurants to open. The are all closed in the afternoons and don't reopen until at least 7 PM. We saw huge tomato gardens and Christopher tip-toed over all of the street grates.
I normally don't take pictures of our food (okay, sometimes I do) but this dinner was so beautiful and delicious that we just had to. I am certain this is in the top 5 steaks I have ever eaten in my life.
File this ^^ under "Things Topher though were more interesting than the things we were seeing"
We had another helping of gelato and watched the moon rise over the hills while waiting for the train to come. If you know Christopher you know he loves the moon and it was so fun to stand there and watch this with him. I will remember this moment forever I hope.
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